Grey Council
The Grey Council is the ruling body of the Minbari Federation. The nine members of the council stand in circle, their backs to the darkness and their face to the light, so as to stand in "the Grey". Being minimalists,The Lost Tales there is no furniture in the room and the members simply stand in the beams of light. An additional lit spot is positioned in the middle of the circle where guests stand while presenting to the group. A canopy of equipment exists above the heads of the legislators that controls the lighting and can project holographic imagery for the members to see. Very little else is known of Grey Council leaders, as the Minbari are extremely secretive of such things. The Chosen One acts as president of the group, organizing the discussions by calling on the various members, accepting guests and presenters to the group, preparing an agenda for discussion, and being the one to call and end the gathering. The only known undisputed leader since Valen was Dukhat. Each of the councillors are served by assistants that remain outside the Council Chamber, ready to fulfill the tasks asked of their masters. History Before the formation of the council, Castes would compete for dominance over one another by seeing which of their leaders were willing to sacrifice their lives to the Starfire Wheel.Moments of Transition The Grey Council was founded in 1260 by Valen during the First Shadow War and was composed of nine members, each given the honorific title Satai.The Parliament of Dreams To strike a balance between the castes, Valen called forth three from the Warrior Caste, three from the Religious Caste and three from the Worker Caste.Moments of Transition By tradition, the Grey Council lived apart from Minbari society, rarely leaving their customized Sharlin class warcruiser, the Valen'Tha.The Official Guide to Babylon 5 (CD ROM) Upsetting the Balance In 2259, the Grey Council elected to oust Delenn from their number, partly because she had rejected the role of leaderBabylon Squared and partly because she had undergone a transformation against their warnings. Rather than replace her with a member of the Religious Caste, they chose to bring in Alyt Neroon of the Star Riders Clan and a member of the Warrior Caste, giving that Caste a majority in the Council and upsetting the balance it had provided.All Alone in the Night Breaking the Council Valen foretold that the Council would be broken during the Second Shadow War. That event occurred in 2260, after the War had begun in full. The Grey Council had repeatedly chosen not to intervene in any of the wars or conflicts that were threatening the galaxy during the previous two years. Delenn confronted the Council about their actions, accusing them of breaking their covenant with Valen. She seized the leadership staff and snapped it in two, declaring the Council disbanded. Five of the nine members, all of whom were religious and worker, chose to follow her and the Council was broken, as was prophesied.Severed Dreams Reformation In 2261, members of the Warrior Caste, eager for a power grab, started a civil war which claimed lives of their fellow Minbari.Lines of Communication That slaughter led Delenn to offer Shakiri, leader of the rebelling warriors, the surrender of the religious at an ancient gathering facility in the city of Varenni on Minbar. The facility was home to the Starfire Wheel, a powerful device used by the ancients to help determine which caste was suitable to rule. When Shakiri arrived, Delenn challenged him to adhere to the rule set down by the ancients, whom Shakiri, at least on the surface, showed admiration for. The rule was that the leader of each caste was to enter the circle, and the caste of the one who stayed within long enough to be consumed by the beam would be allowed to rule. In this way the leadership, who had been protected during the fighting, would also have to risk their lives for their cause. While Delenn stood undaunted in the face of certain death, Shakiri entered warily and only at the prompting of Neroon, showing more fear than he would have wished to let on. As the beam's intensity grew, Shakiri fled the wheel's fury, cowering in pain from the burns he had sustained. Delenn weakened but refused to leave, contrary to what she had said she would do when she arranged the events with Lennier and Neroon, who had been secretly working with her to end the war. Neroon entered the wheel to rescue Delenn from the beam's power. Neroon reveled in the wheel's fire, and declared his conversion to the religious caste. At that moment, he called on his fellow caste members to end the war, to listen to Delenn, and to heed her wisdom. Seconds later, Neroon was vaporized. This is pertinent to the Grey Council as it leads to how the council was reorganized. Delenn reformed the council into one of five workers, two religious, and two warriors, so that the workers would, at last, have a stake in building Minbar's future. Known Members of Original Council * Kodroni: of the Religious Caste. * Coplann: of the Warrior Caste. * Delenn: of the Religious Caste. (Only member to ever turn down the calling of Leadership.) * Dukhat: of the Religious Caste. (Chosen One and Leader.) * Jenimer: of the Religious Caste. (Chosen One and Leader; Appointed in January 2259.) * Morann: of the Warrior Caste. * Neroon: of the Warrior Caste. (Replaced Delenn, thus violating the balance between the castes.) * Rathenn: of the Religious Caste. Known Members of the Reformed Council * Durlan of the Worker Caste.Moments of Transition * Katz of the Worker Caste.Moments of Transition * Zakat of the Worker Caste.Moments of Transition * Nur of the Worker Caste.Moments of Transition * Varenn of the Worker Caste.Moments of Transition * Mazetch of the Warrior Caste.Moments of Transition * Shakat of the Warrior Caste.Moments of Transition * Dhaliri of the Religious Caste.Moments of Transition * Bhurlee of the Religious Caste.Moments of Transition References Category:Minbari Federation Category:Governing Bodies Category:Grey Council uk:Сіра Рада